Chapter 3

"Where have you been?" her foster mother asked with a furious face and tone. It was now eight in the morning.

"I've been here for a while, and I was doing the laundry, Mrs. Belle," she answered with respect and a calm voice, not making eye contact.

"Why did you take so long? You should have done that earlier at dawn," she said, pointing a finger at her.

"Forgive me. I will do it early next time."

"Good, because you know what will happen if you're late again." She walks away and heads towards the kitchen.

"Phewww" she wipes her sweat from her forehead and hurriedly heading into the kitchen.

Mrs. Belle and her mate already had a daughter named Isabelle. She was the spitting image of her mother, except the color of her eyes was blue.

She got it from her father. Sam Williams, who has black hair, is tan, tall, and muscular, was one of the warriors of the pack.

Her adoptive father was the worst in the family towards her. He would torture her as he pleases or when his daughter grizzles a single word about her behavior.

Once in a while, Zainne was lucky not to cross paths with him in their house. Sneaking away from him was the best option.

Mrs. Belle has brown, curly hair and honey-brown eyes. She was the shortest in the family, standing five feet four, while her husband was six inches taller than her, and she has the fairest skin in the family.

She would often brag about her beauty to her friends, having a small nose that she thought they envied. And blinking her honey-brown eyes at them, showing off her long, fake, thick eyelashes, and pouting excessively with her thin red lips.

The Williams family was too lazy to do chores, especially when they had a very spoiled and cunning daughter. That is when they thought of adopting Zainne into their family to make her their servant.

How lucky she was... -_-...

Isabelle is one year older than her; they both have the same height, which is five foot five. She has tan skin, which she got from her father, and inherited her brown curly hair from her mother.

She was a beauty. Having the same attitude as her mother, flaunting off her curves, wearing thin fitting clothes, pouting her small red lips, and sending flirtatious looks at unmated males.

Indeed, the spitting image of her mother. Isabelle hasn't found her mate yet and is tired of waiting for him. So, she was luckily engaged to their pack Beta, Niel Harrison.

The name of their pack was the Blood Moon Pack, located in Canada. The third-largest pack in the world consists of two thousand members.

Their Alpha is the same age as his Beta, who is twenty-three years old. Alpha Xander Cane already found her mate during his eighteenth birthday party.

Beta Niel's mate, however, unexpectedly rejected him for a higher rank.

Almost three years have passed since her eighteenth birthday, and she has not yet found her mate. But she still hadn't given up hope.

"Zainne!" her sister yelled from her room angrily. "Zainne!"

She quickly went to her sister's fancy pink-proof room, leaving the dishes she was washing. Her room was glamorous, similar to the Las Vegas vibe of the interior design, adorned with a shiny crystal chandelier and fluffy white pillows and rug—all things luxurious and shiny.

"You called, miss?" she asked her with a warm smile.

"Stop that creepy smile of yours. Did you take my necklace?" she asked in an accusing tone. Raising her well-groomed eyebrows at her.

"What necklace?" Her face was as innocent as her question.

"Don't you lie to me; I saw you hungrily staring at it when I showed it to you at dinner last night." She was now starting to get angry. "Tell me where it is now!" she shouted in a high-pitched tone, like a spoiled brat having a tantrum.

She flinched at her annoying voice.

"I didn't touch it. I swear," she said in a panic tone.

"Liar!" she snarled.

"I'm telling the truth, miss." She was now shaking and holding both of her hands to her chest. The perfect image of a submissive.

"What is going on here?" her mother spat, entering the room.

"She stole the necklace Niel had given me," she sniffed as if to cry.

"No. That's not true. I would be--" She was cut off by a slap on her left cheek. "Mrs. Belle, please," she begged. Holding her left stinging cheek.

Then another slap was felt. Her eyes watered because of the stinging sensation.

"Who else would steal it then?" she accused. "Go to the basement before I drag you there myself," she spat angrily at her, giving her a patronizing gaze.

She quietly obliged and looked back at her sister, who was smirking triumphantly. Then, she slowly went as ordered.

Zainne was in pain, but her wolf was inveighing inside her.

~How dare they!~ Her wolf's rage was heating like a pot of boiling water.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

SLASH!

SLASH!

SLASH!

The smell of fresh blood oozes from her back down to her panty shorts.

She was whipped fifteen times as punishment for stealing her sister's precious necklace. Which she did not.

Their treatment of her was unacceptable and inhumane. 

Her sister was mischievous and malicious. She always gets into trouble with her.

Silently crying from the painful whip. She never shouted in pain, the last time she did, was added five times of being whipped.

Her hands were tied up, and her head and feet dangled.

"Count! You piece of trash!" Her abuser, supposedly her adoptive father, cringes with his crooked nose in disgust.

"four...teen..." she said in a raspy voice.

"If you can't bring it back by tomorrow, I will whip you more until I can see your precious bones," he warned.

"Please. I didn't steal anything," she said in a whisper.

SLASH!

"Count!"

"Fi-fifteen." Then it ended. She was heaving for air, pain and exhaustion soon engulfed her.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he said while walking back upstairs.

~I'm sorry that you have to suffer this with me~ feeling tired and numb. ~Don't worry, I'm used to this~ she said weakly to assure her.

~Hang on, Zainne. I will slowly heal us~ her wolf cooed. ~Soon, they will have their time...~ her voice held a promise.

Zainne didn't bother understanding what her wolf had said and fell into an unconscious state.

Three days had passed, and her sister's necklace was found under Zainne's pillow on her makeshift bed.

It was planned by her cunning sister. However, Zainne was still hanged in their basement, leaving her without treatment.

Her sister wanted her to bleed. She wanted her to suffer. She was jealous of her because she was more beautiful, kind, and graceful than her. She was everything she's not.

"Guess what?" Sam boomed his voice to alert her to her weak state. "The necklace was found under your pillow."

She craned her head up, squinted her eyes, and tried to look in his direction. Even if she was trying to incline her head towards him, she knew he was grinning devilishly at her.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The sound of his footsteps echoed in the dimly lit basement as he walked down the few steps of stairs.

"Please," she weakly begged. Her voice was merely a whisper.

"Shut up!" he backhanded her right cheek. "Start counting," preparing to whip her again.

And so, another day of torture was given, until she fainted again, putting her in a coma for three weeks.

Luckily, they still have a bit of conscience left, and they brought her to the Pack hospital after knowing she wouldn't wake up.

They dared to act concerned for her in front of the staff, as always, and of course, they bought the act.

The Williams family told them that it was her punishment because she stole something valuable and went too far for her punishment.

Zainnne was an insignificant person to some of them, so why would they care?

Their Alpha, however, knows how she was treated in his pack but never the worst from her foster family.

She was detested by her kind because she was wolf-less, or at least they thought so...

On the contrary, if she had reported their years of abuse to him, she would have done it without hesitation.

Sadly, she was afraid that no one would believe her, and frankly, it would result in a much more sinister tribulation.

Almost everyone in her pack treated her badly. Some may just ignore her, and some will look at her with pity.

But she was still the most kind-hearted and cheery girl they would face outside their house. One of the reasons why their Luna and Alpha turned a blind eye to her.